The Highlander's Curse (18 page)

I ran
as fast as I could, dodging trees and bushes, and trying not to laugh at the
mere thought of what Cailen might do when he found me. Rounding a tree I knew I
could hide behind, I whirled around, peeking around it in case he was already
that close. My breath left me in excited rushes and I had to force my breathing
to slow.

“Lass,”
he called playfully. “Where are ye?”

Oh,
that teasing lilt in his voice.

“Nuh uh
uh…You have to find me,” I sang back. I’d barely spotted movement between trees.
He wasn’t that close yet.

“Ye’re
in a fair amount o’ trouble. I dinna think ye want tae ken what’ll be done tae
ye when I find ye.”

“Ooh.”
I laughed. “Are you going to punish me?” He was closer now, so I took off at a
dead run, knowing that if I’d stayed put he would have found me in seconds.

I
gasped as an arm came out in front of me and I clotheslined into it before
falling to the ground.

“Nae
need tae run, woman. In fact, I wouldn’ae try it if I were ye.”

I
peered up into the dark eyes of the stranger, and a scream bubbled out of me as
cold steel pressed against my neck.

****

Cailen held back from
finding his lass. For one, he’d been shocked to see so much bare skin as she’d
lobbed her shirt at him and ran, leaving her only in her tight wee skirt and
small patch of black that covered her pert breasts. He’d get a peek at them
this night if it killed him.

The
woman wanted him to look at her, wanted him to touch her. Any reservations he’d
previously had vanished the moment her soft fingers had worked his cock to a
frenzy. His seed had never come so hard as it had when her hand had clutched
it.

He
caught sight of her rushing through the trees as she tried to get away from
him. He turned as well, following her trail, kenning that if she slowed at all
again that he would catch her. Perhaps it was time to capture the wee lass,
after all.

Cailen
opened his mouth to tease her once more, to gather her location from her voice
alone, but a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the forest, choking off
anything he’d been about to say.

He
lunged forward, passing tree after tree, watching for any sign of her. His
heart pounded rapidly, his worry for her overwhelming every other sense. Was it
the bloody MacDougalls? Had they found her already? No, he couldn’t accept it.
He needed her. She was a part of him now.

Another
muffled scream had him changing course, and he barreled through the forest in
search of his wee Elizabeth. Remaining silent was his only course of action,
hoping to take whoever—or whatever—had her, by surprise. There was a shuffling
of leaves up ahead and he slowed, listening.

“Ye may
as well come out,” a man yelled. “We ken ye’re there.”

Cailen’s
jaw clenched as he reached into the sheath under his plaid, and extracted his
dirk. There was no sneaking up on the bastard that held his woman, but he refused
to walk into a possible massacre without at least one weapon in hand. There was
one thing for certain: If Donnan MacDougall had Elizabeth, he’d fight the
bawbag to the death before he’d ever leave her to a scullion like him.

“Out
wi'ye, man. Ye’re woman hasn’ae come tae any harm.”

“Is
that so?” Cailen replied, searching for any movement as he strode ever closer.
If a single hair on her head was harmed, he’d tear the man apart. “Are ye well,
lass?”

“Y-yes,”
she replied, her voice quiet and shaken.

He stepped
into a small clearing in the middle of the forest. A camp, he realized a second
later. Elizabeth was standing next to someone, her arm being clutched by his tight
fist. He gaped at the man responsible for nabbing her, hardly believing his
eyes. “Grant? Is that
ye
?”

“Cailen.”
Grant Ferguson laughed. He released Elizabeth’s arm and stepped forward,
slugging him on the shoulder. “I didnae think we’d see ye any time soon.”

“Aye. I
hadn’ae planned tae return yet.” Other members of his clan stepped out from the
surrounding woods, and he met the eyes of more than one of them. “What are ye
all daein’ here?”

“Huntin',”
Grant supplied. “We’ve run low on meat at home, so we came out here on a
huntin' raid.”

“So far
from home?”

“Aye.
Huntin’s been scarce. If we’re tae catch anythin' off guard, it must be where
they’re no’ used tae us.”

Scarce?
Already? It was one of their warmest months. There was still time yet before
winter overtook the land.

“We
also need a good deal for tradin',” a familiar voice said from behind him.

Cailen
turned and saw the ugly mug of none other than Gregor McIntosh, his oldest
friend. “Gregor,” he greeted, unable to keep the smile from spreading across
his face. “It’s good tae see ye. How’s yer wifey then?”

“Flora?
Och, she’s about tae give me another son or daughter. Any day now.”

“Another?”
That was a surprise. He hadn’t even known there was one.

“Aye.
She’s already blessed me wi'a son. Wee Hamish.”

Cailen
strode over to his friend and gave the man a quick hug. “Congratulations, ma
brither. I canna wait tae meet yer bairn.” He peered over at Grant as the man
apologized in great detail to Elizabeth, who still looked pale from her
ordeal—and, he realized, very nearly naked. He approached her, quickly handing
her the shirt and placing a tender hand on her shoulder once she’d stabbed her
arms and head through the tiny openings.

“Ye’ll
return tae Ardmoir wi'us then?” Grant asked.

Glancing
down at Elizabeth and then returning his gaze to his clansmen, he nodded. “When
dae ye plan tae return?”

“Half
o' us are plannin' tae leave on the morrow. The other half will stay in search
o' more food for trade.”

“All
right then. The lass and I will return tae Ardmoir wi'ye.”

This
time Gregory stepped forward, folding his arms as he stood by Grant’s side. “And
who is the lass, Cailen? Ye’ve yet tae make introductions.”

“Oh.”
He coughed. “This is Elizabeth Michaelson. Elizabeth, these are ma clansmen.”

“That’s
a…that’s great.” She hugged her arms around herself as a chorus of quiet “Good
e’en’s” and nods came from his men. Elizabeth merely eyed them, blinking as she
stepped closer to him. Damn them for scaring her. Damn them for scaring
him
.

“Well
it’s settled then. We’ll leave at first light. Welcome, Miss Michaelson.” Grant
bent low in a bow, giving her the smile that had felled more lassies in Ardmoir
than any other lad’s. Elizabeth returned his smile.

He
didn’t much care for her looking at another man.

****

People stopped and stared
as we entered the little village Cailen had grown up in, but I got the feeling that
was more due to my Highlander than because of the presence of a stranger. I
received friendly welcomes, but he’d gotten pats on the back and outright awe
as he passed.

Every
single adult in sight was wearing tartan, only the children and young girls wore
other colors. I wondered what kind of welcome I would have received if I’d
shown up in my T-shirt and skirt. Cailen forced me into it after seeing some of
the other men gawk at me.

Probably
a good thing he did. After the whole “
Ooh, sorry I held a knife to your
throat. Gotta keep an eye out for enemy clans, you know,
” thing, I’d gotten
uncomfortable within seconds from their stares alone. Being that close to so
many strange men kept me up all night, and I was seriously feeling the effects.

“We
should go tae ma home directly,” Cailen said, inching close so he could speak
quietly in my ear. “Ye can rest there and I’m sure we can hae a doctor see tae
yer foot.”

“That’d
be great.” I smiled up and let him take me by the elbow as he led me away from
the mini parade of hunters who’d been hauling dead carcasses the entire way to
Ardmoir. “This is where you grew up?”

“Aye.”

There
were a few homes and businesses there, they were mostly older homes like the
ones I’d seen along the way. They all seemed to be surrounding a much bigger
one, that had a rock fence that ran around the perimeter. Inside the small rock
wall, there was a stable housing three horses, and just next to that was a
large area where two “heelin’ coos” grazed. At least a dozen chickens scurried
around, flapping their wings in irritation as a small boy ran back and forth
wherever they tried to rest. In the distance there was another building,
nowhere near the size of the main house, but I couldn’t tell exactly what it
was used for.

The
main house was a good deal bigger than every other home in sight, with the
exception of the church just up the hill. The home was two levels, with open
windows on both floors. The yard itself wasn’t much to speak of, except it had
big, bushy plants with vibrant red and purple flowers at the entrance. That was
more than what I’d seen of other homes so far.

Before
we even reached the house, a girl about my age scurried inside, slamming the
door behind her. We were only a few feet away when a man yanked open the door,
peering out at us with disbelief. He was as tall and well-built as Cailen, only
his hair had a reddish tint to it, and he sported a thick beard. Yep,
definitely my Highlander’s dad.

A woman
peeked out from around his side, and pushed her way through the door as she saw
us approach.

“Cailen!
Och, ma wee Cailen! Come here, lad!” Her arms spread wide and she gripped him
in a hug as he lifted her off the ground. Tears streaked down her cheeks, but
she laughed through them. “We didnae ken if ye were alive or deed. I’m so glad
ye’re all right.”

“Mam,”
he said, grinning at the woman as he set her down. “‘Tis good tae see ye.”

I
teared up at seeing their excitement, and brushed them from my cheeks. That
used to be me and Mom, and I’d never have that again.

I stood
by, uncomfortable as I played absolutely no part in this family reunion. I
smiled though, in case anyone actually did look my way. I also focused on his
mom, comparing her to the towering son she’d somehow created. It was a bit
harder to make out her features since she was covered in a big dress and her
hair was mostly covered with a hat.

“Hello,
son.”

Cailen
glanced past his mom and nodded. “Da.”

The
older man approached, holding his hand out for Cailen to shake. “Ye’ve been
gone a long while.”

“I needed
time.”

“A bit
too much, maybe,” his mom replied. “Och, who’s
this
?”

All
eyes fastened on me and I knotted my fingers together.

“This
is why I’ve come.” Cailen stepped toward me. “Elizabeth, this is ma mam, Ailsa
MacKinnon, Lady o’ Ardmoir; and ma da, Conall MacKinnon, Laird o’ Ardmoir. Mam,
Da, this is Elizabeth Michaelson.”

“Hi.” I
waved lamely. Seeing his parents lit something within me, and I no longer felt
exhausted. I just wanted to learn more about these people since I was about to
be incorporated into their family. And I really hoped they’d like me.

“Welcome
tae Ardmoir, Elizabeth,” his dad said, offering me a bow just like the ones I’d
received from the Highland hunters the night before.

Cailen
touched my elbow. “Come, lass. I think we’ve much tae discuss wi’ma mam and da.”

As soon
as we were inside, I was given a tour of their living room, dining room, and
kitchen, and then upstairs where all of the bedrooms were. The inside of their
home was beautiful, with paintings on the walls and cabinets filled with beautiful
dishes and silverware. This was unlike anything I’d expected. I’d thought Mary
and Uilleam’s home was nice, and they were a close second, but this was
incredible. Over the fireplace hung a shield and two swords—Conall’s,
apparently—and over each of the chairs and benches were pillows and blankets.
Cailen’s mom had painstakingly made this the most comfortable home she could.

Servants
had already gotten to work on making up bedrooms for us. Ailsa had pulled one
of the servants aside and instructed the girl to fetch Cailen’s little brother,
Cameron, while I was being toured around their home. The furniture inside our
rooms didn’t disappoint. There was a mirror and vanity, and even a small tub
that I assumed was for bathing. It was more than twice the size of the room at
the inn in Kilchrenan.

“Are ye
sure ye dinna want tae rest, dear?” Ailsa asked. “Ye seem a bit knackered.”

I stole
a glimpse at Cailen, giving him a look that I’d hoped would tell him I had no
idea what she’d just said.

“Actually,”
he replied. “She needs a doctor tae look at her foot. She was injured days ago
and we’ve been keepin’ a salve on it that another doctor gave us.”

“And
don’t forget your arm,” I added.

“I’d
wondered what happened tae yer arm. What hae ye done now, Cailen?”

“Mam.”
My Highlander rolled his yes. “We were attacked by a boar. I had tae keep it
awa from her.”